Review: Marijuana Smoking Not Linked to Cancer

Worried about what marijuana smoking is doing to yourself or a loved one? Here’s the truth:

In the upcoming June Annals of the American Thoracic Society, Donald P. Tashkin, MD, emeritus professor of medicine and medical director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, reviewed the research on the effects of marijuana smoking on the lungs. Dr. Tashkin finds that in studies of regular smoking of marijuana by itself, there is “no clear link between marijuana use and the development of COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease] or lower respiratory tract infections.”

Additionally, “findings from a limited number of well-designed epidemiological studies do not suggest an increased risk for the development of either lung or upper airway cancer from light or moderate use, although evidence is mixed concerning possible carcinogenic risks of heavy, long-term use,” Dr. Tashkin notes. “In summary, the accumulated weight of evidence implies far lower risks for pulmonary complications of even regular heavy use of marijuana compared to the grave pulmonary consequences of tobacco.”

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